


AAML: Diamond and Pearl Version

by EchidnaPower



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime)
Genre: AAML - Freeform, Diamond and Pearl, F/M, Lagomorphshipping, Penguinshipping, Pokemon - Freeform, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings, handymanshipping, pokeshipping - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-24
Updated: 2017-04-24
Packaged: 2018-10-23 11:47:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10718754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EchidnaPower/pseuds/EchidnaPower
Summary: Follow me as I remake the DP episodes in order and in sequence, all so I can add the biggest star besides Ash himself. Misty! Watch her and Ash's love grow as they go on their journey through the Sinnoh Region. A Pokeshipping series. Also includes Penguinshipping, Handymanshipping, slight mentions of Contestshipping, and a Brock shipping to be named later. Oh yeah, there's PikachuXBuneary here too.





	1. Painful Memories

**(NEW NOTE) Welcome AO3 readers to this site's posting of AAML: Diamond and Pearl which is semi-famous for its existence over at FF.net. So why after all this time is this story appearing here? Well, as long as I'm going through all the chapters and sprucing them up, I figured I would go ahead and post them here on this site that seems to be growing exponentially as I go through them and make them more enjoyable to read. As of this posting, I've fixed them all the way up to chapter 11, so get ready for a massive explosion lol. In any case, I hope you enjoy the remastered version...for new readers who have never seen this series before...buckle up, it's gonna be a long ride! xD  
_**

**So, after reading a bunch of stories, I noticed that there have been no recent ones lately starring Ash and Misty. That's probably because Misty has been out of the loop for so long. Well now I'm going to bring her back into the loop! And basically this story will go along the storyline of Dawn's era, but will quite often have some twists and extras added to accompany Misty. Except for these first few chapters where I actually bring her back into the group. So, in case you need the ages, here you go.**

**Ash: 14**

**Misty: 15**

**Dawn: 13**

**Brock: 18**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 1

**Ash's POV**

I never would've guessed that a friendly battle before nightfall would have this effect on me...nevertheless, here I am, awake in the middle of the night, holding the item that was causing me to think about _her._ It was a handkerchief that she had given me before she left a couple of years back. I never imagined that such a frail and harmless item could hurt so much…even though I'm not entirely sure why.

**Normal POV**

**[Flashback]**

"Chimchar, use Flame Wheel!" Ash Ketchum was currently in the middle of a sparring match, and his chosen partner for this battle was his recently adopted fire-type, who immediately leaped into action once the order was made.

"Cha ah ah!" Chimchar's mouth spewed a flame, and then he began spinning which resulted in the fire enveloping him, and he launched towards his foe.

"Piplup, counter with Whirlpool!" The opponent for this match was a coordinator girl named Dawn Berlitz, who was currently in command of her partner Pokémon, her loyal Piplup, who began to glow after the counter move was called, and a giant whirlpool stood suspended in mid-air over his head.

Chimchar was getting closer now, and he was just about to make contact, when Piplup finally fired the giant whirlpool towards the flaming monkey. "Char!" Chimchar was hit dead-on by the Whirlpool attack, and Dawn heartily congratulated her Piplup for landing the attack successfully.

And as was his custom, Piplup cockily stood tall with his flippers on his waist in pride. "Piplup!" (Naturally!)

"Ugh, don't be so cocky, Piplup! You should know by now that Chimchar doesn't give up _that_ easy!" Dawn said disapprovingly.

The little penguin slouched. "Piplup…" (Oh, right...)

"You alright Chimchar?" Ash asked.

"Chim chim char!" (Sure, let's keep going!)

Ash smiled, "Alright then, use Flamethrower!"

"Chiiiim Char!" Flames spewed from his mouth, and flew straight towards the penguin Pokémon.

"Use Bubblebeam!"

"Piii plup plup plup!"

Bubbles fired out of Piplup's beak, and started battling against the incoming Flamethrower attack. The power levels of the two attacks were nearly matched evenly, but slowly, Piplup's Bubblebeam began gaining the edge due to the type advantage. "C'mon Chimchar! Don't give up!" Chimchar went all out and started fighting harder, but fatigue was starting to take its toll.

"Keep going Piplup!" Dawn was not necessarily the best choice for battle partner, since she was more inclined towards contest battles rather than full, head-on battles of strength. But versus Chimchar, Dawn and Piplup would be more than enough for the young monkey who had only recently joined Ash's team.

While the two young teens battled for superiority, Brock, the eldest and most responsible of the trio was busy stirring a huge pot of food. _"Those two are_ really _giving it their all, I'd better hurry up with this, they'll be starving once they're done."_ he thought. While Brock was more of an established battler than Dawn, he much rather preferred to watch and give helpful tips from the sidelines these days. Plus, his dream to be a Pokémon Breeder had made him much more interested in raising Pokémon than battling them, but that never stopped him from being an onlooker to battles, and that included this high-heated one.

" _Chimchar can't keep this up much longer…gotta think of something fast!"_ Ash's panicking would prove to be justified. Despite his cheering and encouragement, Chimchar simply couldn't overcome the type disadvantage and eventually gave out. The now freely flying Bubblebeam nailed the small fire-type dead on and sent him flying…right into Ash, who crashed to the ground from the impact. "Oof! Ok…I think that's enough." Ash strained.

Brock looked up from his cooking pot to see Ash lying on the floor. "You alright big guy?" Brock asked with a chuckle, slightly amused at the sight of Chimchar sitting on Ash.

"Pikapi? Pi pi ka chu?" (Ash? Are you ok?)

"Yeah, I'm alright guys." Ash dusted himself off and swiveled his head around to look for his hat, which had been knocked off by the impact of the collision with Chimchar.

"By the way, nice Bubblebeam, Piplup." Piplup chirped in thanks and hopped into Dawn's arms for a hug after the sincere praise.

Ash spotted his hat laying upside-down behind him. He went to go pick it up, but as he did so, something fell out of his hat. With reluctance, Ash bent down to pick up what had dropped out of his hat.

_"Misty's handkerchief."_

Ash tenderly felt the soft fabric in his hands, as memories of past adventures flooded into his mind. He had always kept it with him, ever since her original departure he had kept it in his signature wardrobe accessory to ensure that he would never, ever lose it. He felt it was extremely important to him, as it was a going away present from his best friend. Usually, the small handkerchief was too light to be noticed by touch where it usually was, and so it was ignored most of the time.

And although normally the light fabric had always discreetly remained hidden inside of his signature cap, this time it had been jarred loose from the sudden impact, and was causing Ash to unintentionally take a walk down memory lane. He thought of all the fun they had, the arguments, the battles, the festivals they had partaken in, even their arguments. And it filled him with a sudden sadness to realize that the fabric he held in his hands was the only thing he had left of her besides the lure she had sent him.

"Chim char?" (Ash?) Ash was jarred from his thoughts by a concerned monkey, who was lightly tugging on his pant leg.

He smiled and petted Chimchar's head in reassurance. "I'm ok buddy. Nice battle, return." Ash reached for Chimchar's Pokéball, and Chimchar gave one final sound of concern before the red beam sent him back into his Pokéball. Ash's attention then turned back to the handkerchief he was holding in his hands. Why was he taking this object as such as a shock to the system? It didn't do that before.

He was so wrapped into his own world that he didn't even notice Dawn walking up behind him. "What's that Ash?"

"Waahh!" Ash yelled and jumped back in shock, shocking the coordinator in the process from the violent reaction. "Geez, Dawn, next time why don't you make a little noise to let a guy know you're there?" he panted.

"I did!" Dawn replied with her hand over her chest. "You didn't hear me because it looked like you just zoned out!"

Ash blinked for a moment, then exhaled as his heart started beating normally again. "Ahh, it's ok I guess." he said as he slowly placed the handkerchief back into his hat and placed it on his head. "You didn't mean to scare me."

"So what was that you were holding Ash?"

Ash looked away from her. "It was nothing." he mumbled.

"Nothing doesn't make you space out like that." she pointed out with a smirk.

The young trainer frowned and his brow furrowed. "I said it was _nothing!"_

"Alright! Don't bite my head off for gosh sakes!" Dawn stomped away angrily, and Piplup did the same. "Geez, what's up with _him?"_ Dawn asked the breeder who had been quietly watching the whole exchange.

"I dunno." he said. _"But I might have a pretty good idea."_ Brock had noticed exactly what Ash was holding, and since he was there when Misty had given it to him, he knew what it represented to Ash. Unfortunately, Dawn did not.

Sensing his master's distress, Pikachu hopped onto Ash's shoulder and nuzzled it. "Pikapi?" (Ash?)

**Ash's POV**

" _I miss having you around Misty. I wish you could still be here traveling with me – err – us. What right does she have to pry into my personal business anyway? On the other hand, what right do_ I _have to yell at her for no reason? You'd probably yell at me for that wouldn't you Mist?"_ I couldn't help but laugh at what I had just thought. But I knew I had to apologize to my current female traveling partner, so I walked over to where Brock had just started to serve a dinner of one of my favorite meals: his homemade chili.

When I got there, I wasn't surprised when Dawn wouldn't even look my way, after the way I snapped at her, I figured she'd be upset. "Hey, sorry about the whole being angry thing Dawn, I didn't mean to lose my cool like that." I had found as the years went by, it was getting easier to apologize. When I was ten, and hanging with Misty, I couldn't apologize for almost anything. Now at fourteen, it was slowly becoming easier to swallow my pride.

Dawn turned her head towards me and gave me a smile, and I gave a friendly smile back. "No need to worry Ash, apology accepted."

"Alright! In that case, Brock, give me a bowl of chili!" I started eating right away, but I found that my appetite had quickly deserted me, I had taken two bites of food, and suddenly, without warning or explanation, I started thinking about Misty again.

" _Why is she in my head all of a sudden? I never had this problem before."_ My redheaded friend had taken over my mind somehow; thoughts of her friendship and camaraderie flooded and nearly drowned my brain. I was jarred from my thoughts again, this time by Brock.

"Did you say something Brock?" I asked wearily.

"Ash, what's wrong? You keep zoning out."

I waved my hand dismissively. "There's just a lot on my mind right now."

"Your next gym battle?"

" _Not even close Brocko. But you'd never let me live it down if I told you what - or rather who was on my mind."_ I decided to go along with it, and save myself the interrogation. "Yeah, that's it."

"Well, just relax, ok big guy? You'll get through it, just like you always do." I had to admire the way Brock tried to help me out. Under normal circumstances, it probably would've worked…but the circumstances were far beyond normal…at least in my mind.

Uneasy silence passed, before I finally broke it. "I'm going for a walk."

"What about your chili Ash?" Brock asked.

"I'm not really hungry tonight." I said casually. I turned and walked away, but I didn't get very far before I heard tiny footsteps running up from behind me.

"Pikapi?" (Ash?)

"Hey there Pikachu."

"Pika pika pi pi pika chu?" (So, what's on your mind for real?)

I chuckled at how my friend could read me so well. "Don't worry about me buddy, it's pretty stupid if you ask me."

"Pi chu pi ka pika Pikapi, pi pi ka." (I won't think it's stupid Ash, I'm your friend, you can tell me anything.)

"Well…" Pikachu's encouragement was starting to sway me…I figured if anyone could keep a secret, it was Pikachu. Not just because he was a Pokémon, and the only ones who could understand him without translation were me, and surprisingly, the person who just happened to be plaguing my thoughts, but because we had a friendship that without a doubt would last a lifetime, and I could confide in Pikachu for anything. "Alright buddy, I guess I can tell you."

"Pika." (Of course.) I sat down on a nearby rock, and pulled off my hat. Once Pikachu saw what I was doing, he made a sound that sounded like he had just figured out what was plaguing me. "Pikachupi." (Misty.)

"You nailed it buddy. There's just something about this thing that brings back memories. But it also reminds me that she's not traveling with us anymore." I stroked the handkerchief softly, not even caring that Pikachu was there watching me, he didn't seem to mind though…he could understand how I was feeling.

"Pika pika pi Pikapi." (I miss her too Ash.)

"I guess I'll have to try to get over it…come on Pikachu, let's head back to camp." I put Pikachu back on my shoulder, and trudged back to camp.

I was hoping that the small walk would ease my mental and emotional stress, but all it seemed to do was make me think about it more, since I didn't have to be on guard when it was just Pikachu. And even though I didn't realize it, the stress was doing something to my physical status as well, which was easily pointed out by the way I was trudging. My feet barely left the ground as I dragged them back to camp.

When I got back, I noticed that Brock and Dawn had already set up my sleeping bag for me. I took off my hat and set it beside me as I crawled under the covers, with Pikachu not far behind. It didn't take long before I fell asleep, I was pretty tired…but the dream I had was crazy.

I was just laying in my sleeping bag, I rolled over to get comfortable, but instead of seeing Dawn next to me, I saw a fiery red-head, not even a foot away from me. _"Is that M-Misty?"_ I reached over to see if it was real, I moved some strands of hair that had fallen over the image of Misty's face, and I smiled. "Misty, it _is_ you!" I felt this surge of heat enter the depths of my belly as I stared at Misty's image.

Despite how happy I was, I felt confused as to why the sudden burst of heat had entered my body, especially since the campfire was out. But I quickly forgot about that when the image of Misty opened her blue-green eyes at me and smiled. I smiled back and felt the strange feeling increase in intensity, but what happened next caused my spirit to deflate instantly. Although the image was of Misty, her voice came out as…Dawn's?

"Misty? Who's Misty?"

It was then I realized I was dreaming, I woke up and I found Dawn staring at me with confusion. "Umm…sorry Dawn. Never mind." I wasn't sure why, but I was somewhat confused as to why I was disappointed that it was merely a dream. She shrugged and went back to sleep, apparently too tired to pursue her question. I laid on my back for a short while, and then pulled Misty's handkerchief out of my hat for the third time that day.

**[End Flashback]**

All I could do was lie there until fatigue took me over; because there was no way I would get to sleep on my own. _"I wish she would come back and travel with me again, with_ all _of us. But what's the point of dreaming? She has the life of a Gym Leader now…she wouldn't want to come back and hang with us now."_ I had always figured that Misty's life as a Gym Leader would be glamorous and luxurious; coming back would probably be a downgrade to the life she led now.

I felt tears threatening to pour out of my eyes; I shut them to avoid crying. Her friendship was something I held dearly, and I truly did wish I could have her traveling with me like old times, but that reality seemed far-fetched to say the least. All I could do was fight the pain and wait until the night was over, and think about my best friend…my best friend: The Gym Leader of Cerulean City.


	2. The Wish to Be Free

**Now that we've seen how Ash is feeling, let's see what's going on in the world of everyone's favorite gym leader: Misty Waterflower! Thanks for the reviews so far, I didn't think I'd get any to be honest, so they make me feel proud! Enjoy this chapter! I own nothing except the story.** **  
**_

Chapter 2

**Normal POV**

"I _hate_ being a Gym Leader!" That was the sound that was heard almost every day at the Cerulean City Gym, and it always came from the mouth of Misty Waterflower. Two years ago she had been forced to come back to Cerulean and take over the gym that her three "sensational" sisters were going to abandon in order to take a yearlong cruise around the world.

And now, a year after they finally returned, Misty was still trapped inside the gym, forced to be away from the boy she loved. "Oh, Ash…I wish I was out there with you…instead of being stuck here because of my loser sisters!" she always cried. She had no idea that somewhere in the Sinnoh League, a certain jet-black haired boy was missing her almost as much as she missed him.

She didn't always feel this way. For the first few months, she actually enjoyed being a Gym Leader. The thrill of beginning to build her own legacy, the challenge of rebuilding the Cerulean City Gym from a Kanto-wide joke into an honest-to-goodness challenge for beginning trainers...or a final test for trainers who thought they would simply save her for last based on the gym's previous reputation. It was something she found to be exhilarating.

At first.

After visiting with Ash a couple of times during his journey in Hoenn, she was given a reminder of what it felt like to travel with him, the warm feeling that came with being with her best friend, the adventure, the excitement...somehow it dimmed the bright future she'd started to envision for herself.

Then as the months continued, and her sisters returned, it became more and more evident to Misty that being a Gym Leader wasn't going to be as glorious as she'd led herself to believe. Her sisters were all but completely useless, the constant pressure to perform...and of course the constant absence of the one person she cared for more than anyone else...it began breeding resentment in her, and on this day, it would come to a head.

**Misty's POV**

I pushed my red hair out of my face as I battled the third challenger of the day. I had let it grow much longer in the time I was stuck in the gym, but it was proving to be a minor irritation since it kept swishing into my face. _"I'll have to remember to put my hair back up_ before _I start a battle."_ The fact that I had lost two matches in a row, and I was currently losing another one was making me pretty mad too. I was taking on a young boy with a Weepinbell, who strangely enough had already taken out my Staryu and Starmie. But I got my fair share of hits in as well, as I had defeated his Sandshrew with a powerful Water Gun attack from Staryu.

"Misty calls Gyarados!" I threw my final Pokéball out into the water, and my powerful sea monster emerged and gave an intimidating roar, which cut the attack power of my opponent's Weepinbell.

"Weepinbell, use Razor Leaf!" The Weepinbell fired razor sharp leaves at my Gyarados, and I ordered him to dive underwater to avoid the attack.

"Now Gyarados, use Flamethrower!" I ordered my Gyarados to use the move I had spent a lot of time perfecting; do you have any idea how hard it is to get a water-type to learn a fire-type attack? Nearly impossible…but I want to become the world's greatest water Pokémon master!

And stuff like that is just something I need to work on, but my practice is limited here in the gym, I could be a lot better if I was out there with…him, learning about new techniques and new Pokémon. Gyarados emerged from the water and his Flamethrower easily took care of the boy's Weepinbell, and I congratulated my dragon for a job well done as he roared in celebration.

"Alright, this is my last Pokémon, I'm getting that badge…go Pikachu!"

My heart skipped a beat when that Pikachu came onto the battlefield. It reminded me of the boy that I was forced to leave behind two years ago. _"Oh, Ash…"_ I tried my best to get my head straight. _"I've_ got _to snap out of this, I still have a match to win!"_ I told myself silently. "Gyarados, use Flamethrower again!"

"Dodge it with Quick Attack, Pikachu!" Gyarados launched Flamethrowers all over the battlefield, but the speedy electric mouse dodged his attacks every time. I could see that he was getting tired from blasting so much, and that I had to do something. "Pikachu, finish it with Thundershock!" the boy screamed.

"Piiikaaa chuuuu!"

The small jolt was all it took to knock out my exhausted Gyarados, and when I finally realized I had lost, I sadly recalled my dragon. "You did a good job Gyarados." I whispered. I walked to the side of the gym, where I was forced to give away the third Cascade Badge of the day with what I hoped was a congratulatory smile on my face. "You did a good job, here's your reward."

"Alright! I got the Cascade Badge!" the boy and his three Pokémon cheered. Seeing his victory dance only reminded me even more of my best friend and secret love. As soon as he was out of sight, I ran back into the gym with tears streaming down my face. I didn't even stop when Daisy appeared to see the outcome of the match, I just ran into my room, slammed the door behind me, and cried.

"Why does everything I see have to remind me of Ash?!" I screamed into the pillow on my bed, trying to muffle the sounds of my pathetic crying...but with my heart in turmoil...it was hard to resist the urge to sob.

**Normal POV**

After seeing Misty run up into her room crying, Lily and Violet appeared next to Daisy. "Like, what's wrong with baby sis?" Lily asked.

"Yeah, she's like, _totally_ off her game." Violet said, agreeing.

Daisy sighed and slumped her shoulders a bit. "I guess, I should like, go talk to her, huh?" Her two younger sisters nodded in agreement. Daisy quietly walked up the steps that led to Misty's room, and gently knocked on the door. "Misty, can I come in?" she asked softly. When she didn't hear a response, she slowly opened the door, and saw her little sister asleep on her bed with tear stains on her face. Seeing her there, Daisy sighed again and shook her head. _"There's nothing I can do while she's asleep."_ She stepped out of the room and quietly closed the door behind her, she actually felt sorry for her little sister, which didn't happen often.

"Did you like, talk to her?" Violet asked as their older sister came back down the steps.

The eldest sister shook her head sympathetically. "She actually like, cried herself to sleep. I kinda wish I knew what was wrong."

"I'll tell you what's wrong! She's like, lost three straight matches today, and she's only won _one_ in the past three days!" Lily yelled angrily.

"Like, calm down Lil," Daisy replied defensively. "It's not like she lost on purpose, and she's _still_ better than all of us put together when it comes to battling."

"But not fashion!" Violet said randomly.

"Well, yeah, _obviously."_ Daisy threw her long blonde hair over her shoulder. "But that doesn't explain why she seems so off lately."

"Well, when she wakes up you have to like, pry it out of her." Lily said.

"I'll try, ok?" Daisy huffed and screwed on a determined expression. "Now, let's get ready for the show tonight."

**THE NEXT DAY**

Misty woke up still mentally exhausted from the stress of the previous day. She had even dreamed of being on the road again with Ash and Brock, which relieved a little of the stress she was feeling. "Azu, Azu!" (Hi mommy!) Misty's little Azurill squeaked, happily bouncing on her tail.

Seeing her baby Pokémon down on the ground next to her bed, Misty smiled and bent down to pick up her Azurill and give her a hug. "Good morning Azurill, how are you feeling today?"

"Azu azu!" (I feel good!)

Misty giggled and went to the kitchen to get both her and Azurill some breakfast. As soon as she got there, she poured some specially made Pokéchow that Brock had given her a recipe for into a bowl, and placed it on the ground for Azurill. "Here you go Azurill, eat up ok?" Her Pokémon nodded and happily started eating. With that taken care of, Misty reached into the cupboard and pulled out a box of cereal with her sister's pictures on them. "Ugh, I can't even _eat_ without them." she muttered to herself.

It was times like these when she actually missed _Brock_ more than Ash. With much reluctance, Misty finally gave in and poured the cereal into a bowl and poured milk over it. _"I guess it doesn't taste_ so _bad, at least not as bad as I_ thought _it would."_ she finally concluded.

Meanwhile, Daisy had woken up to get her own breakfast, and saw Misty already chowing down on cereal. "I guess now is a good a time as ever." Daisy whispered to herself. Steeling herself, she walked into the kitchen, and gave Misty her attempt at a smile.

Misty caught her try, and started wondering what it was for. _"Alright, what does_ she _want?"_ If you asked her, Misty would probably admit that she and Daisy were starting to grow closer, but Misty still had some reservations about her older sisters.

Daisy sat herself down in front of Misty, and tried to get a conversation started. "So, how'd you sleep last night?"

The redhead hesitated before answering. "Good." she finally said without meeting her sister's gaze.

Seeing as her first question got a rather apathetic response, she tried again. "How'd the battle go yesterday?"

At that, Misty snapped as she dropped her spoon back into the bowl and glared up at her sister. "What do you want Daisy?"

"Zu?" (Huh?) Misty's sudden outburst caught the attention of Azurill.

Misty took a deep breath and looked back down at her stunned Pokémon. "Keep eating sweetie." she said as she tried to reign in her temper. Satisfied with that, Azurill smiled and went back to eating. As for Misty, she waited until her baby Pokémon was fully engaged in enjoying her breakfast before crossing her arms over her chest and glaring back up at her sister, her foot tapping impatiently. "Well?"

The tall blonde sighed and gave her youngest sister an earnest look. "Is there something wrong with you Misty?"

"No Daisy, there is _not._ Why?"

Daisy gulped silently before she answered. "Because your battling looks like it's gotten a bit worse lately." she said cautiously.

That was all it took to flare up Misty's temper. "I _knew_ this would have something to do with me losing those battles!" she snarled. "If you're going to torture me because of it, then I don't wanna hear it!" Misty grabbed her bowl of cereal, and stomped back up to her room, slamming the door behind her. She then placed her breakfast on the nightstand next to her bed and lied down on her bed face up. "I _hate_ this place...I just want _out_ already." she whispered to herself.

Misty heard Daisy come up and knock on the door again. "Misty, please, I just wanna help." Daisy said from behind the door.

_"If you wanna help, then let me go!"_ Misty thought angrily. She waited a few minutes, and eventually heard the footfalls of Daisy walking back down the steps. _"I miss you Ash."_ Once again her thoughts drifted off to Ash, the boy who was the source of her emotional struggles...the boy she loved.


	3. Confiding In a Friend

**Time to get back to Ash, who by now is feeling the effects of those painful memories. Thanks for the reviews so far, and I hope you're enjoying the story so far. I own nothing except the story.**   
**_**

Chapter 3

**Normal POV**

It had only been a few days since Ash first got hit by the "Misty" memory, but the effect was lasting a lot longer than that. Ash was losing focus easier and easier as the days went by, and the only ones who noticed it right away were Brock and Pikachu.

Ash had even gone as far as to put on his old Kanto outfit which at this point barely fit the growing boy. He had hoped that wearing some memories would make him feel happy, but nothing could've been further from the truth, he merely felt worse. Dawn had noticed the costume change, but didn't really talk about it much after Ash basically shrugged off her inquiries, and Brock didn't comment out of kindness and compassion to Ash.

"Well, according to this map, we should hit Solaceon Town in just a few days." Brock said.

"Yeah, that's great Brock." Ash said sullenly.

The breeder sighed internally as he watched Ash trudge along. _"His attitude has to have something to do with what happened a few days back."_

"Hey, you know what I just noticed?" Dawn asked.

After noting that Ash was in his own little world again, Brock decided to answer instead. "No, what is it?"

"We haven't been attacked by Team Rocket in a while; it's actually kind of weird to have a few days without someone trying to steal our Pokémon."

"Well, I don't know about you Dawn, but I'm not exactly complaining about it." Brock turned to Ash, hoping a little conversation might elevate his mood. "What do you think Ash?"

**Ash's POV**

_"Misty…I can't seem to get you out of my head…ever since I saw your handkerchief again, I've been dreaming that you were here again, on the road, having fun, heck…I even enjoyed the arguments we had. I know we'll always be best friends…but I can't help but wish you were here with me."_

"Ash? Ash?" I heard Brock say.

"Hmm?" I raised my head and looked at my two friends, who were looking at me expectantly. "Oh, Team Rocket? Yeah, they haven't attacked in a while, have they guys?" I looked at my two traveling partners, and by the looks on their faces, it seemed like I had said something stupid. "What?"

All of a sudden I felt the ground underneath me start to give, and we all fell in a hole. _"Oh no, not again."_ I grit my teeth and my fists clenched in anger. _"Now the balloon will show up, and Team Rocket will start their lame motto again. Well, not this time!"_

Jessie: "An evil as old as the galaxy!"

James: "Sent here to fulfill our destiny!"

"I am _not_ in a good mood today Team Rocket, so I'll tell you your destiny _now!"_

Jessie scowled after I cut them off. "How _dare_ you interrupt our motto?!"

"Yeah! Dat's really all we got in dis dumb racket! We even decided ta pull out an old favorite for dis occasion!" Meowth added.

"Get out of here… _now_!" I could feel the rage inside of me, I couldn't explain why I was so mad, but I figured it had something to do with my missing Misty so much.

"Well twerp, what's got _you_ so upset?" Jessie asked sarcastically.

"Yeah, you're usually all happy-go-lucky." James added in the same tone.

That was all I could take. "That's _it!_ Pikachu, get them out of here with a Thunderbolt!"

"Piiiikaaa Chuuuuu!"

I smirked as I watched Team Rocket disappear over the horizon. But not before hearing: "We're blasting off again!"

"Wobbuffet!"

*PING*

**Normal POV**

Brock and Dawn stood in awe at how angry their friend had gotten, they honestly couldn't believe it. "C'mon guys, let's get out of here." Ash's voice was still dripping with anger, as he climbed out of the hole with a boost from Brock, and then Ash pulled Brock out of the hole, leaving him to help out Dawn.

Now even Dawn couldn't deny that something was going on with her mentor, so she warily tapped his shoulder to try and get his attention. "Umm, Ash, is something bothering you?"

Ash didn't bother to turn around. "Never mind, let's just move on."

As he watched Ash walk ahead of them, Brock frowned and made a decision. _"_ _I'm gonna talk to him when we set up camp tonight, I want the old Ash back."_

They moved on a little further, until a young trainer came out of nowhere, challenging Ash to a battle. The idea of a battle caused Ash's blood to race, and for a moment he forgot all about what was bothering him. "Yeah, I'll take you on!"

"Hey, maybe _this'll_ get Ash back on track!" Dawn said hopefully.

"Yeah…maybe." Brock had his doubts, but he decided to play along for the moment and stood in-between both the trainers. "You guys'll need a ref!" Stepping aside so that he wouldn't be in the crossfire, he called out the rules. "This'll be a one-on-one match, battle begin!"

"Alright, Buizel, I choose you!" Ash threw out a Pokéball, and Ash's new water weasel emerged in a flash of light, his arms crossed over his chest with a determined grin on his face.

"Ok, I choose Butterfree!" In another flash of light, the younger boy's choice of Pokémon appeared, hovering in place as it awaited its orders.

"I'll start first! Buizel, use Water Gun!" As soon as the order was made, Buizel whipped his head back and whipped it forward again, as a powerful stream of water went flying straight for the Butterfly Pokémon.

"Dodge it Butterfree!" the other trainer's Butterfree floated out of the way just before any impact was made.

Despite the clean miss, Ash was actually starting to enjoy himself again, as the familiar rush of a Pokémon Battle got him excited again. _"Alright! Now I can finally get focused and enjoy myself a bit!"_

"You can do it Ash!" Dawn yelled from the sidelines.

**Ash's POV**

"You can do it Ash!"

I heard a voice cheering me on, but the weird thing was, it sounded like Misty! Was I hearing things? "Misty?" I looked around anywhere my head would turn, thinking that since I heard her voice, she was hanging around somewhere.

**Normal POV**

The moment Ash started swiveling his head around after she cheered, Dawn frowned in worry and rushed over to the breeder and looked up at him. "What's going on Brock? What is Ash looking for?"

_"Misty, huh? So my theory was right."_

"Butterfree, use Sleep Powder!" The Butterfree floated over Buizel, spraying a sleep-inducing powder, and sure enough, Buizel fell asleep seconds later.

"Huh, what the?!" Ash jumped when he realized that Buizel had fallen asleep.

"Now Butterfree, use Dream Eater!" Butterfree's eyes began to glow, and Buizel began to toss and turn as his dream was eaten right in his own mind. The resulting torment caused Buizel to faint.

The black-haired trainer stood there stunned for a moment before heading over to kneel down behind his only water-type. "B-Buizel…are you ok?"

Buizel slowly sat up and held his head in one of his paws. "Bui bui." (I'll be fine.)

"T-The winner is Butterfree." Brock was honestly shocked by how easily Ash went down. He knew his friend was struggling, but not even he thought it would get this bad. _"This needs to stop."_

"You did great, take a nice rest." Ash sighed and returned Buizel to his Pokéball, and stood up with his eyes closed and fists clenched.

"Ash…lost?" Dawn stated in disbelief.

Pikachu bounded next to his master with his ears drooped. "Pikapi?" (Ash?)

"Hey uh...it was a nice battle!" the boy said.

"Yeah…" Ash looked up and tried to smile. "It was great."

"Well...thanks a lot man! Seeya around!" the boy ran off with his Pokémon behind him, and once he was out of sight, Ash's fake smile vanished immediately.

With tension obviously in the air, Brock walked up to the slumped Pokémon trainer and clapped a hand on his shoulder. "C'mon guys, let's set up camp."

"Sure Brock." Ash shrugged off the breeder's hand and just started walking to the nearest clearing, his head bowed and his hat shielding his eyes from anyone's sight.

It didn't take long for the trio to set up camp, and as soon everything was done, Brock sent Ash into the nearby forest with Pikachu to get some firewood so he could get started on dinner. _"Alright, he's alone now...now's my chance."_ Turning to the coordinator who was speaking to her Pokémon, Brock spoke up to get her attention. "Hey Dawn, I'm gonna go look for some berries ok?"

Dawn nodded. "Sure Brock, we'll be fine."

And with that, Brock took off in Ash's direction.

**Ash's POV**

"Geez, what is _wrong_ with me?!" I yelled at myself. "I'm _hearing_ Misty, I'm _seeing_ Misty, I'm _dreaming_ about Misty! I wonder if a Hypno got a hold of me while I was asleep and put some sort of curse on me."

"Pikapi, Pikachupi pi _pi_ pika chu." (Ash, Misty is _not_ a curse.)

I sighed. "I know buddy, but I can't explain it! Why is it that all of a sudden I just want Misty around again?!"

"Pika pika pikachu pi pi!" (Because you like her for gosh sake!)

I flinched when Pikachu told me that. _"Me? Like_ Misty? _Hah! Give me a break. I mean sure, she's my best friend, but that's all she's ever been…right?"_ It was then that I started to question what my true feelings towards Misty were. Sure she was my friend, but was I starting to like her as something more than that? And if that was the case, was that why her absence was hurting more than it ever had before?

"Hey Ash!"

I turned around and saw Brock running towards me, and he looked pretty tired. "Is something wrong Brock?"

"Yeah, something _is_ wrong, it's _you."_

I gulped. _"He noticed? I can't let him know!"_ I put on a smile and denied it. "There's nothing wrong with me Brock." I could tell by the look on his face that he didn't buy it.

"Ash, you lost to a beginner trainer with a Butterfree."

"So? Everyone has a bad day every now and then."

"Not only does that not _sound_ like you Ash, I _know_ it's not you."

I grinned helplessly and shrugged. _"He's not buying it."_

"Pi pikachu Pikapi." (Give it up Ash.)

I figured the jig was up. Brock wasn't falling for my act. "Sit down Ash." I complied, and put down what little firewood I did manage to find. "During the battle with that kid, do you know why you lost?"

_"Because I lost focus, that's why! But…let's see what Brock's idea is."_ I shrugged. "Why Brock?"

"You were looking for Misty." Brock raised an eyebrow. "Did you hear her or something?"

_"Oh crud. He definitely knows..."_ I sighed inwardly. I guess I couldn't blame him for being concerned, it wasn't like I was doing a good job of hiding my feelings. _"Well, I might as well stop hiding it, maybe I'll get lucky and he can help me."_

"Well Ash?" Brock asked again.

I sighed out loud this time. "You got me Brock. I could've sworn I heard Misty's voice, when I did, I lost track of what I was doing."

"It wasn't just today Ash, how long has this been bugging you?" I admired Brock's ability to be patient with me with this. It made things a little easier, but not much.

**Brock's POV**

_"This being patient thing is driving me crazy! I know why Ash is freaking out, but he needs to figure it out on his own…stay cool Brock."_

**Ash's POV**

"It started a few days ago..." I looked up, and Brock made a face that said to continue. "After the battle with Dawn, I went over to get my hat and put it back on…but something fell out of my hat." I took off my hat, and pulled out Misty's handkerchief. I looked at Brock, and his face now looked like he knew something I didn't. "Misty gave this to me before she left...not sure _why_ exactly, but I've always kept it with me. But for some reason…whenever I see it these days, it hurts me…like on the inside."

**Brock's POV**

_"D'oh! Ash you are the densest person I know! She gave it to you because she likes you! And you like her too! Why can't you figure that out?! I guess I'll have to make it obvious for him."_ I looked him straight in the eye. "Ash, I'm gonna ask you this, and I want you to be dead honest with me." I said in the most serious tone I could manage. Ash nodded in understanding. "What are your feelings towards Misty?"

Ash's face scrunched up right before my eyes; I could tell that those rusty gears in his head were turning as he pondered my question and sighed. "Brock, I'm honestly not sure…I mean, she's my best friend and all, but I have this weird feeling in the pit of my stomach that's saying I want more."

_"Hmm…is he finally getting it?"_

"At first, I thought I was just hungry…"

_"D'oh…only you would think that Ash."_

"But even after I ate something, I still felt this burning sensation whenever I thought about her…and it's been amplified ever since this thing made a reappearance." Ash held up the handkerchief for emphasis.

_"Time to point out the obvious, it's now or never."_ I sat down next to Ash and placed my hand on his shoulder. "Ash, what would you say if I could tell you _exactly_ why you felt that?"

"I would be pretty grateful, that's what."

"Ok, brace yourself…" I felt Ash's entire body tense up when I told him that, as if he knew I was going to say something he didn't necessarily want to hear. "You…love…Misty." As soon as I said the word "love," Ash's eyes started to bug out. _"And cue the denial."_ My thought would prove correct.

"How can you be so sure Brock?!" he yelled in both frustration and shock.

"Because that's the way I feel every time I see Officer Jenny or Nurse Joy!" I started to daydream without even realizing it. "My heart feels like it's on fire and my stomach feels like it's full of Butterfree! And all I want is to fulfill those feelings inside of me by-" I suddenly felt a stinging sensation in my side.

**Normal POV**

"Croagunk!" (Cool it!)

"This…feeling…isn't part…of the…equation." Brock strained and fell over as the effects of Croagunk's Poison Jab took its toll on him. Ash and Pikachu sweat-dropped at their constantly love-struck friend, but Brock was able to recover quickly, and he got back to the conversation at hand. "Anyway...I'm serious Ash. That feeling you have really _is_ love. I was really hoping you'd figure it out years ago," Brock sighed. "When Misty was still around."

"Well Brock, it's too late now I guess." Ash hung his head and shook it despondently. "There's no way for me to tell her, and she wouldn't feel the same anyway."

_"I wish I could tell you this man, but if I told you that Misty loves you, she'd flatten me with her mallet."_ Brock breathed out through his nose and squeezed the boy's shoulder. "Ash, you don't know for sure she doesn't feel the same way."

"But Brock," his head suddenly whipped up, his eyes wide with terror. "If I tell her and she doesn't feel the same, our friendship will be ruined!"

_"Now this, I can help with."_ Brock took hold of both of Ash's shoulders and made sure he was looking right at him. "Wrong, Ash! You two will be able to stay friends no matter what, you've been through thick and thin together, and that won't be thrown away by a risk that must be taken."

"Are you sure Brock? I mean..." he looked down at the ground and started wringing his hands. "If I change the way things are now, it might get worse, I mean...Misty _does_ have a tendency to get angry."

"I'll admit that's true," Brock gave a slight side nod. "But I know for a fact that Misty is the kind of friend that you can trust with anything." he looked Ash in the eyes. "You _do_ trust her don't you?"

Ash looked at the breeder in training incredulously. "Of _course_ I trust her!"

"Then what's the problem?"

For a moment, Ash tried to come up with a problem, but when he found that he couldn't think of one, Ash sat a little taller and smiled. "You know Brock, maybe you're right."

"Don't act so surprised," Brock grinned. "I have experience with girls and stuff like that."

"Yeah," Ash scoffed with a smirk. "A total of three."

Brock raised an eyebrow at that. "What's _that_ supposed to mean?"

"When you see a girl, Croagunk jabs you. Before that, May's little brother Max would pull you away by the ear. And of course, good ol' Misty, she'd either yank you away the way she taught Max, or smash you with her mallet!" Ash laughed as he counted Brock's past failures with girls on his fingers.

Brock face-faulted once Ash finished, knowing he had just been bested by the usually dense Pokémon trainer. With a quick recovery, Brock stood up. "I'll pretend I didn't hear that." he held out a hand and helped Ash up. "Come on, we better get back to camp. Dawn's probably getting worried by now."

"Hey Brock?" Ash said as Pikachu jumped back onto his shoulder.

"Yeah Ash?"

"Thanks for talking to me…but…can I ask a favor?"

"Yeah, sure, what is it?"

"Don't tell Dawn what we talked about please!" Ash suddenly seemed very worried. "She'd never let me live it down if she knew about this. She'd probably try to see if Misty liked me back and ruin everything!"

"Pikapi, pi pi pika chu." (Ash, I really think she does though.)

"I wish I could find out Pikachu, but she's at the gym now." Ash sighed and slumped his shoulders, and the duo headed back to the campsite in uneasy silence, with Ash once again suffering from an aching heart.


	4. Secret Plans

**Ok, I admittedly made a mistake with an upload, so this chapter has been rewritten. I hope I managed to recapture everything I did before, and if I didn't, I apologize. Well, here we go with Chapter 4.2.** **  
_**

Chapter 4

**Normal POV**

After speaking with Brock, Ash felt a little bit better since he managed to get the pain off his chest and even explain what was going on. But now a new thought was swirling in his mind. Brock had come right out and said that he was in love with Misty, and the normally dense Pokémon Trainer had actually been convinced that it was the truth. But now that he knew the truth, Ash thought that the pain would never go away until he saw Misty again.

As for Brock, the silence was positively unraveling for the breeder, not even Pikachu was making so much as a squeak. So Brock tried to lighten the atmosphere a little with some friendly conversation. Maybe even something about Misty, maybe he could see if Ash understood what he had said to him.

"So, what did Misty say the last time you talked to her?"

"Well, that was a few months ago...she said that she was starting to train Daisy in battling. Misty was getting tired of handling the entire workload by herself."

"That's understandable." Brock nodded. "With a gym as popular as Misty's, it'd be nice to get some help. So how was that going?"

"Well, I asked her that and she said that Daisy might actually be enjo-" Ash stopped in his tracks, and his eyes widened as a huge grin spread across his face. "Brock, that's it!"

The breeder was caught off guard by Ash's sudden outburst as he jumped back a little. "What? What's it?"

"I've got a great idea Brock! Where's the nearest Pokémon Center?!"

"It's a mile or two north from here...But we can't stay _there_ for the night Ash! We already set up camp!"

"Don't worry Brock; the only one going is _me."_ Ash handed the two small twigs he had managed to find to Brock. "Go ahead and head back to camp; I'll be back as soon as I can!" With that, Ash took off down the road, leaving the utterly bewildered breeder to try and figure out what had just happened.

**Brock's POV**

I watched Ash run down the road with Pikachu hanging on for dear life. "Ok, let me think, what could've brought that on?" I replayed the last few minutes in my head to try and figure out why Ash took off so suddenly. My brain wasn't able to process it in the moment because of the abrupt change of attitude he had, I thought he may have just gone crazy and we'd have to call the men in the white coats to go after him.

_"Well, I asked her that and she said that Daisy might actually be enjo-Brock, that's it!"_

That was where it started. Ash mentioned Misty and Daisy training with each other, but what was the "it" he mentioned?

_"I've got a great idea Brock, where's the nearest Pokémon Center?"_

"An idea huh? That'd be a step up for Ash. Now the big question is...what _is_ the idea?" As I continued to walk back to camp, holding the two twigs that Ash had oh-so-graciously handed to me before he took off, I pondered what Ash's huge revelation could've been. "Maybe he's gonna go call Misty? Nah, that's too sensible for Ash. Maybe he'll find someone who looks like Misty and ask her to join us...uh uh, too crazy even for _him._ Meh, whatever it is, it's _bound_ to be interesting."

I decided to give up on trying to figure the complex and yet not so complex mind of Ash Ketchum. It just took too much brain power to unravel the mysteries of his mind. The only ones who could ever read him that easily were Misty and his own mother. And so I finally reached the campsite where Dawn was still waiting after I got a little more firewood, but she looked kinda tired of being patient.

"Where've you been?!" Dawn asked with her hands on her hips. "I was getting worried."

I shrugged. "I couldn't find any berries out there."

"Hey, where's Ash? And why are _you_ holding firewood?"

"Uh..." I was hesitant to explain. Ash had quite clearly explained that he _did not_ want Dawn to know how he felt about Misty. And I could understand why. Dawn did have a tendency to meddle in things that were none of her business. "He went to go run an errand. He should be back in no time."

"Well I certainly hope so, I'm starving!" Dawn growled. "And I don't plan on waiting too long for him to do whatever he's doing!"

_"Hurry up Ash! She may not compare to Misty, but an angry Dawn can be pretty scary too!"_

**Ash's POV**

An incredible idea had popped into my brain, I was proud of myself for having it. I ran as fast as I could towards the Center, with Pikachu clinging desperately to my shoulder, trying not to fall off as I continued to speed towards the Center. "Pikapi! Pika pika chu?" (Ash, where are we going?) Pikachu squealed, his eyes squeezed shut to keep out the wind blowing in his eyes.

"To the Pokémon Center, Pikachu! We've gotta call an old friend!"

"Pikachupi?" (Misty?)

I chuckled at that, it made sense that Pikachu would think that was my big idea, and it did involve Misty, but not directly, at least not yet. "Nope, we're not calling Misty; we're calling an 'old' friend." I snickered. Pikachu gave an exasperated groan as he understood my pun. We finally reached the Center, and I burst in and looked at the clock, and saw that it was only 8:30 P.M. "Perfect, it's not too late!" I ran to the videophones and quickly dialed a number. I was going so fast that I figured I had to redial the number over eight times before I actually got it right.

**Normal POV**

*Ring ring ring, ring ring ring, phone call, phone call* Somewhere in the Kanto Region, a videophone was ringing wildly, calling to the recipient of the call to answer it.

"Now who could it be at this time at night?"

The phone was answered, and Ash soon appeared on the screen. "Hi Professor Oak!" he said cheerfully.

"Oh, hello Ash!" Prof. Oak smiled. "To what do I owe the honor?" Ash explained his situation to the wise man, making sure to leave out the parts about Misty of course. "I see, hold on just a moment Ash, I'll make the call."

Prof. Oak walked off the screen, leaving Ash and Pikachu waiting in anticipation. "Guess we'll know in a minute, eh Pikachu?" Ash petted the head of his Pokémon partner, who responded with an affectionate "cha!"

After a few minutes, the Professor came back onto the screen, and sat himself down with a smile on his face. "You're in luck Ash, he should be at your location tomorrow morning."

Ash punched the air with excitement. "Thanks a lot Professor, I really appreciate it!"

Just then, Ash's Muk came onto the screen and smothered the Professor. "I think Muk appreciates you for calling!" Prof. Oak said in slight distress.

"Ha ha! Hi Muk!" Muk waved his globby hand at his master, while the Professor tried to get out from underneath it. "Ok Professor, thanks for everything, talk to you later!" And with that, Ash hung up the videophone and got up to look at the clock. "Hmm, 8:45, well, I guess that's not so bad." Seeing that he had accomplished his goal sooner than expected, Ash decided to heal his team, seeing as Buizel in particular had taken a beating earlier. "Hey Nurse Joy, how about a recharge?"

"No problem young man," the nurse took Ash's Pokéballs and Pikachu. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

No alone in the lobby as he waited for Nurse Joy to return with his Pokémon, Ash looked up at the ceiling as his imagination conjured up an image of a certain redheaded Gym Leader. "I hope I'll see you soon Misty."

Meanwhile, Dawn was practically fuming at Ash. She hadn't gotten to eat yet and it was because Ash hadn't gotten any firewood and Brock was forced to do the job himself, which meant that he'd had to set up the actual cooking process, which delayed their dinner by a significant margin. "Where the heck is he?! I swear I'm gonna have to have a long talk with him when he gets back!"

_"You're a little late Dawn; I already had one of those with him."_ Brock thought. "Relax, he'll be here soon, I know it." The breeder was trying to sound calm, but he definitely didn't want Dawn to get any angrier, she might start using him as a target to practice contest moves on. Just then, Ash was seen coming up the road, and Brock gave a sigh of relief.

However, Dawn was not satisfied with Ash just coming back; she wanted to get her two cents in, and maybe another dollar's worth of words. "Where have you been?!" Dawn screamed in the stunned trainer's face. "We haven't even eaten dinner yet thanks to you!"

Ash had to dodge the coordinator's hands as they were getting uncomfortably close to his face., and he put up his own hands in a placatory gesture."Sorry, but it was important."

"More important than _dinner?!_ Ash, you've _never_ missed a meal before, for _any_ reason! What could _possibly_ be so important that you miss out on _food?!"_

Now Brock thought this was amusing to watch. He was interested in seeing how Ash would slip his way out of telling the truth.

"I uh...had to..." Ash said a little too quickly. "Take Buizel to the nearby Pokémon Center!"

_"Hmm, not a bad answer."_ Brock thought with a subtle approving nod.

"After all," Ash added cockily. "A trainer like me should _always_ have his Pokémon in tip-top shape!"

_"D'oh, so close. You shoulda just left it at that."_

"Well whatever," Dawn huffed. "At least you're back so we can eat."

Ash tilted his head. "Why'd you guys wait for me anyway?"

"We _weren't_ waiting," Dawn scowled and gave her mentor a side-eye look. "Since you bailed on getting the firewood, _Brock_ had to do it _for_ you, so he's only just finishing up now."

"Oh," Ash rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled nervously. "Sorry about that guys."

"Don't worry about it Ash," Brock waved a hand dismissively, much to the coordinator's shock. "I managed to find enough wood that I could heat up some leftover riceballs."

"I can't believe you're letting him off the hook." Dawn crossed her arms over her chest and puffed out her cheeks in anger.

It took a while for Ash and Brock to cool their coordinator friend off, but they were able to enjoy a relatively peaceful dinner before getting ready for bed, although Dawn did insist that Ash take care of the cleanup duty to make up for shirking his earlier responsibilities.

Given the circumstances, Ash had no trouble complying.

**Ash's POV**

We were just getting ready for bed, and I began to set out my sleeping bag, when all of a sudden, Misty popped into my head again. But for some reason, I didn't feel as much pain as I had before. _"I sure hope my plan works, I want my Misty back..."_ I did a double take at that. _"Did I just call her_ 'my' Misty?" I couldn't help but smile a little. _"_ _Wow, I must love her more than I thought..."_ I did another double take. _"_ _'Love'? _Wow Brock, you sure did a number on me."__ I knew now that the feelings I had for Misty were pure and genuine, but I hadn't yet grown accustomed to thinking of her like that.

But one thing was for sure, I liked it.

As I crawled into my sleeping bag, Pikachu walked up and curled himself next to my head for a good night's sleep. I petted his head and just waited for morning to come, thinking about Misty the whole night through.

**Normal POV**

The next morning, Ash, Dawn, and Brock were once again on their way to Solaceon Town. But after a short while of traveling, the trio looked up into the sky as they heard a faint roar in the distance. _"That's gotta be him!"_ Ash thought excitedly.

In the sky, they saw a small orange figure, which was slowly growing larger as it approached. Once it got close enough, Brock's eyes widened - as much as they could - in shock at the sight of what he was seeing. "Whoa, check that out Ash, it's a Charizard!"

Ash grinned. "That's not just _any_ Charizard, Brocko."

Brock raised an eyebrow at that as he looked at his younger friend. Then he turned his head back towards the sky, and that was when his mind made the connection. _"It's_ Ash's _Charizard!"_

"Charizard! Down here!" Ash waved his arms to get the dragon's attention, and moments later, Charizard swooped down to where they were and landed, causing the ground around them to rumble a little bit, announcing presence with his signature roar while spewing a Flamethrower.

"Aaah!" Dawn shrieked and hid behind the breeder's back as if he could hide her from the large fire/flying-type, and she pulled out her pink Pokédex shakily in order to scan the Pokémon.

"Charizard, the Flame Pokémon, and the evolved form of Charmeleon. Charizard's powerful flame can melt absolutely anything." her Pokédex chirped.

"Hey buddy, how ya been?" Ash patted his powerful Pokémon's side, and Charizard shrugged dismissively with a low grunt.

"How are you and Charla holding up?" Brock quickly regretted asking the question when Charizard looked away and growled angrily. "Oh…I see."

"Hey, don't worry about it Charizard," Ash patted the dragon's side again. "Remember you still have friends on your side, we'll always back you up whenever you need it." After a moment, Charizard grunted with a small smirk on his face, and motioned for Ash to hop onto his back. Ash did just that, positioning himself securely onto the dragon's back.

After seeing that, Brock had managed to put the pieces of the puzzle together, and he smiled and gave Ash a thumbs-up. "Good luck Ash."

Ash looked down and stared straight at Brock. "Thanks Brock…for everything." he replied. "I'll see you guys later, let's go Charizard!" Charizard unleashed a mighty roar, and took off into the skies, leaving Brock and a very confused Dawn behind.

**Dawn's POV**

Ok, had I missed something? First Ash goes into a depression, and then he starts hearing somebody I don't know about, he takes off to the Pokémon Center without telling us and leaves us waiting for like an hour, comes back happy, and now a giant dragon showed up out of nowhere and took him away. "What was _that_ all about?!"

Brock took a quick glance at me. "Ash has an errand to run, he'll be back in a couple of days."

"A couple of _days?!_ Where the heck is he _going?!"_

Brock apparently completely ignored my question and just started walking ahead of me. "We should probably get to Solaceon Town."

I was not about to let it go that easily. "Tell me where he's going Brock."

"Look, he'll be back, just leave it at that."

"No way! I wanna know what's going on!" I started running to try and tackle the breeder, and in turn Brock took off running as well. "I'm gonna get you Brock! I _hate_ secrets being kept from me! I'll find out what's going on if it's the last thing I do!"

**Brock's POV**

_"Make it fast Ash; I don't think I can put up with her for very long!"_

**Ash's POV**

Thanks to Charizard, my plan was in motion. "Think you can make it all the way to Cerulean City, Charizard?" Charizard nodded and grunted. Thanks to that training in the Charicific Valley, Charizard was a mighty powerhouse that I could count on whenever I needed him, and this flight to Cerulean was more important than any battle I had ever done, at least in my mind it was.

"Pika pi _pi_ chu pika pi Pikachupi." (So we _are_ going to see Misty.)

I didn't bother to respond. Why repeat what Pikachu already knew? He knew how I felt about Misty, and he knew where we were going. "The plan's going great so far."

"Pi pika pika pi chu pika chu." (I'm still not sure what the plan is though.)

"Heh heh, you'll find out soon enough. But I will tell you this, if it works, it'll make everybody happier." I blushed a little bit as my mind added an extra thought. _"Especially me."_

"Pika pika chu." (If you say so.) Pikachu shrugged.

With Pikachu in my arms and Charizard carrying me there, I would soon be at my target location, where Misty Waterflower would hopefully be waiting for me. "Get ready Misty, here I come!"


	5. Reunion

**I've crossed valleys, climbed mountains, and...faced a certain illness known as the common cold to bring you this chapter, but I feel it's worth it. In case you didn't know before, I don't own anything except my imagination which created the story. Thanks for the reviews, and I hope you continue to read this story. Soon we'll be at the end of my original ideas, and we'll start the Diamond and Pearl episodes + Misty. Enjoy!** **  
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Chapter 5

**Normal POV**

As Dawn and Brock continued on their way to Solaceon Town, Brock was doing his very best to ignore the venomous glares that Dawn was continuously sending his way. "Can you _not_ look at me like that?"

The glare only intensified. "You still haven't told me where Ash went, Brock."

"I already told you, he's running an errand and he'll be back in a couple of days."

"That doesn't answer my question." Dawn got in front of Brock and stopped the breeder in his tracks. _"Where_ is he?"

_"Why did you have to make me keep it a secret Ash? She's driving me crazy!"_ All of a sudden, another hole appeared underneath them, and they fell down and groaned from the impact. Although his tailbone was now aching somewhat, Brock couldn't help but feel somewhat relieved that Team Rocket had decided to make an appearance right then. _"Yes, now the interrogation will stop for a little while!"_ Sure enough, the Meowth Balloon floated from above, and Jessie, James, and Meowth began their newest motto.

Jessie: "Listen, is that the voice of surprised twerps I hear?"

James: "It's speaking to me loud and clear."

Jessie: "On the wind!"

James: "Past the stars!"

Meowth: "In your ear!"

Jessie: "Bringing chaos at a breakneck pace!"

James: "Dashing all hope and putting fear in its place!"

Jessie: "A rose by any other name is just as sweet."

James: "When everything is worse, our work is complete."

Jessie: "Jessie!"

James: "And it's James!"

Meowth: "Meowth, now dat's a name!"

Jessie: "Putting the do-gooders in their place!"

James: We're Team Rocket!"

And all three of them finished with: "In your face!"

And as was his custom, Wobbuffet appeared to enter his input. "Wooo buffet!"

"Mime mime mime!" (That's right!)

"Team Rocket!" Dawn and Brock exclaimed from the hole.

"You know you guys have no sense of consistency?!" Dawn yelled angrily.

"What's dat supposed ta mean?!" Meowth yelled back.

"You didn't even use the same motto as last time!" Dawn replied.

Jessie scoffed and waved a hand dismissively. "We decided to change things up a bit, yesterday's motto was from the days of the brown-haired twerpette," she then glared down at Dawn and screamed in rage. "But we didn't even get to finish so what do you care?!"

"What is it you want this time?!" Brock yelled at them. _"As if we didn't already know."_

"The same thing we always want!" Jessie grinned maliciously. "Give us Pikachu!"

"Um…Jess?" James said timidly.

"What is it James?" Jessie snapped. She looked down when James pointed down into the hole and counted the number of twerps. "One, two, th-hey! Where's the Pikachu toting twerp?!"

Brock gulped at that question. _"Uh oh, back to square one."_

"Yeah Brock," Dawn rounded on the breeder and narrowed her eyes at him. "Where _is_ Ash?"

Brock chose to ignore Dawn's inquiry and address Team Rocket instead. "W-Why should we tell you guys anything?!"

"Because if the twerp with the Pikachu isn't here, all the work we put into digging this hole will be wasted!" James said with disappointment.

"Forget dat Pikachu!" Meowth spat. "We'll just hafta settle for nabbin' all de other Pokémon!"

"Forget it Team Rocket!" the breeder managed to climb out of the hole and confronted the three villains. "Let's go Croagunk!" Brock threw out a Pokéball, and moments later, his faithful frog appeared and croaked for a moment before looking up at the trio of thieves.

"If it's a battle you want, it's a battle you'll get! Go Seviper!" Jessie called out her snake Pokémon, who hissed savagely upon release. "Seviper, use Poison Tail!" Seviper charged towards the squatting frog with a ferocity that could strike fear into the hearts of almost any Pokémon.

Any Pokémon that didn't belong to Ash, Brock, or Dawn that is.

"Croagunk! Dodge and use Brick Break!" Croagunk leaped into the air and avoided the sweeping Poison Tail, then his hand glowed and he brought it down hard onto Seviper's head, earning a pained groan from the pure poison-type.

"Get up Seviper! Show some spine!" Seviper shook its head and got back into battle-ready stance. As for Jessie, instead of just giving her Pokémon another order, she rounded on James and snarled at him. "Are you going to attack or not?!"

"Oh, right." James said sheepishly as he pulled out a Pokéball. "Carnivine, I choose you!" Carnivine appeared, then immediately turned around to bite James' head affectionately. "How many times do I have to tell you that I'm not food?!" James ripped his large grass-type off his head and threw him down to the ground so he could join the battle. Use Bullet Seed!" Carnivine opened his mouth and the Bullet Seed attack started raining down on Croagunk, who fell back from the impact.

"Aah! Croagunk, are you alright?"

Croagunk quickly hopped back onto his feet and looked back at his trainer. "Croa gunk!" (I'm fine!)

"Alright, use Poison Sting!"

By now, Dawn had finally managed to climb out of the hole as well and was able to join the battle as she threw out her own Pokéball. "Buneary, get out here and use Ice Beam!" Buneary popped out of her Pokéball in a flash of light, and she immediately fired a powerful Ice Beam just as Croagunk launched his Poison Sting. The two attacks hit simultaneously, and Seviper and Carnivine were knocked back into their respective masters, just in time to be blasted off.

"I can't believe this!" Jessie fumed as she swung her arms in rage. "We manage to lose even when the twerp and his Pikachu aren't around!"

"Hey look, we're flying towards da Kanto region!" Meowth exclaimed.

"How do you know that Meowth?" James asked.

Meowth shrugged. "Call it Poké-instinct."

"Will you two boneheads shut up?! Who cares where we're going?! The point is…" Jessie yelled.

"We're blasting off again!"

"Wooo buffet!"

*Ping*

"Nice job Croagunk, return." Brock recalled his poison-type frog, but then he flinched as he felt a chilling presence behind him.

"So Brock, I'm not the _only_ one who would like to know where Ash is." Dawn said with her eyes narrowed at the breeder.

Brock slowly turned around and put on what he hoped was a convincing grin. "Good thing I didn't tell, huh?"

"Well, Team Rocket is gone," Dawn put a sweet smile on her face and batted her eyelashes. _"Now_ can you tell me where he is?"

"Sorry Dawn." Brock turned back around and started walking. "That information is classified."

Dawn puffed her cheeks in anger with her fists clenched tightly. Enough was enough. "Buneary," she growled. "Use Ice Beam on Brock until he fesses up!"

Brock stopped walking and looked over his shoulder a moment. "You wouldn't…" He got his answer when Buneary fired an Ice Beam at his feet, causing him to jump five feet into the air. _"She_ _would!"_ Brock took off down the road, running from Ice Beams for as long as he could run.

"You can't run forever Brock! I hate having secrets kept from me!"

_"If you knew the importance of this secret, you wouldn't be doing this!"_

**Ash's POV**

"Hey Charizard, thanks for doing this for me." Charizard grunted and shrugged dismissively, but I knew that was his way of saying 'You're welcome.' All that training at the Charicific Valley had given him much more training than I could have by myself. I looked around and saw something flying across the sky, and so did Pikachu. "Look Pikachu, it's not every day you see a shooting star in the daytime!"

"Pika." (Wow.) He said in awe.

I closed my eyes and made a wish. _"Please _, after all the trouble me and my friends are going through, let this plan work…and let Misty like me the same way I like her."__ I no longer had any doubts about my feelings towards Misty. I did love her…but for how long I've loved her, I wasn't sure. Maybe I always have and never realized it.

"Pikapi, pi pi ka chu?" (Ash, what's on your mind?) Pikachu nuzzled my neck to get my attention.

"Oh, I was just thinking about Misty again." As I said that, I felt my cheeks starting to grow warm.

"Pikachupi pi ka chu pika pika." (Misty does like you, I just know it.)

"I sure hope so buddy." Suddenly I heard Charizard grunt, as we were nearing our destination. "Cerulean City! We're almost there! Just a little more Charizard!" I encouraged my friend, who I noticed was starting to get severely fatigued. _"We're over an ocean, if Charizard gives out now, we're in serious trouble."_

**Misty's POV**

After many more encounters with Daisy, I was starting to become exasperated with the whole situation. Why did she want to talk to me about this so badly? I went to the gym's pool to take a quick swim and calm my nerves. I changed into my red bathing suit, and set Azurill by the edge of the pool before diving in. _"Ahh, finally, the one place where I can be alone with my thoughts. Underwater!"_ I swam to the bottom of the pool, and started to think. _"I wonder where Ash is right now. Probably battling another Gym Leader…I can't help but be proud of him…he's fulfilling his dreams…like I want to."_ I smiled in spite of myself, _"Who knows, maybe one day one of my sisters will step up and allow me to find him someday. It seems unlikely, but there's nothing wrong with hoping."_ As my breath started to give out, I swam back to the top and took in a big gulp of air.

"Azu azu!" (Look, look!) Azurill was pointing her tail towards the gym door.

"What is it Azurill?"

"Azu zu zurill." (I think someone's there.)

"Well, only one way to find out." I picked up Azurill into my arms and hugged her close, there was always a feeling of comfort when I had Azurill with me, but the inner turmoil I was feeling lately was more than Azurill alone could cure. I walked to the door, dreaming that it would be Ash standing there, inviting me in for a hug. But that was impossible…he was all the way in Sinnoh. I finally got to the door and opened it, and saw a young boy with his Growlithe standing there. I sighed internally. So much for dreams coming true.

**Ash's POV**

"You did awesome Charizard, I'm way beyond proud of you." I rubbed the back of my exhausted dragon, who had just enough strength to land at the edge of Cerulean City. "Now, we'll get you to Nurse Joy so that she can get your strength back up for the flight back." Charizard growled, which was his way of saying 'ok.' "Charizard, return." I recalled my powerful friend into his Pokéball, which would make the trip way easier. "Alright Pikachu, first stop is the Pokémon Center, and then, Cerulean Gym!"

"Pi pika chu!" (Alright!)

I laughed at my friend's enthusiasm. Luckily for me and Pikachu, the walk wasn't very long, and we reached the Pokémon Center in a total time of maybe ten minutes. "Take good care of Charizard," I said as I handed the nurse Charizard's Pokéball. "He went all out to get me here, and he's beyond exhausted."

"Of course young man. I'll see to it personally, you're welcome to wait if you'd like."

I shook my head. "No thanks Nurse Joy, I have other plans to attend to."

"Well then, good luck to you." She gave me a cheerful wave goodbye.

"Seeya Nurse Joy, I'll be back to pick up Charizard!" I waved back and walked out the doors of the center. "And now…" I paused to allow my friend to finish the sentence.

"Pikachupi!" (Misty!)

"You got it! So what are we waiting for?!" I ran off in the direction of Misty's gym, excitement running up and down my spine. My stomach felt more and more like Butterfree with every bounding step I took. " _Am I hungr-"_ I quickly rethought what I was about to think. _"Nope, I'm not falling for that again. My stomach is acting this way because of Misty."_ I thought with a smile on my face. At least, I thought that was what it was, until my stomach growled angrily. "Oh, heh heh, looks like I really _am_ hungry." I said with a sweat-drop. Pikachu chuckled at that. "Ok, first we get a snack, and _then_ we go see Misty." Me and Pikachu took a small detour to a nearby hotdog stand, and I bought a hotdog for me with packets of ketchup and mustard. I only cared for mustard on my hotdogs, which worked out since Pikachu had already opened the packets of ketchup and started eating them all. "I guess some things never change, eh Pikachu?" I couldn't help but laugh at my friend's face which was now covered in ketchup.

The little yellow Pokémon licked his face and grinned. "Pi ka chu!" (That's right!)

Before long, we were back on the road to Cerulean gym. "There it is!"

"Pikachupi!" (Misty!)

I ran to the front door of the gym and was about to open it, when I got slammed into the wall by an overly excited kid running out of the gym. "We did it! Can you believe it Growlithe?" the boy said happily.

"Growl growl!" (Awesome!)

The boy ran off with a Cascade Badge in his hand. "Misty lost to a fire-type? Weird…" I dusted myself off and chuckled. "Misty's probably pretty mad now, eh Pikachu?"

"Pika pika." (Yeah, probably.)

"Hmm, I have an idea; Misty hasn't heard my new 'puberty' voice. Let's see if we can make this visit a pleasant surprise."

Pikachu raised an eyebrow at me. "Pikapi, pi pi ka chu?" (Ash, what are you going to do?)

I grinned at him. "Just watch this." I slammed my fist against the door and yelled. "I'm here to see the Gym Leader of Cerulean City!"

**Misty's POV**

I was beyond angry now. I lost to a fire-type! I just knew that Daisy would try to talk to me about _this_ too. I was about to walk up to my room and cry some more, when I heard a determined voice from outside the gym. "I'm here to see the Gym Leader of Cerulean City!" the voice yelled. The voice sounded familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on it. There was one thing I knew for sure though, and that was that I was not in the mood for anymore battles, so I tried to walk away, but whoever was there kept banging on the door.

I turned around, mallet at the ready, and peered my head out the door with my eyes closed. I didn't want to see the face of the boy I was about to hurt the feelings of. "Well the gym's closed for the day so you'll have to get your dumb badge tomorrow!" I yelled angrily.

"I just said I wanted to see the Gym Leader, I didn't say _anything_ about a badge." the voice replied, suddenly very timid. I opened my eyes and immediately thought I was dreaming. It just couldn't be…

_"A-Ash?"_


End file.
